Friday, May 24, 2013

Off to a Good Start

Once I read up on Whole30 and stopped by the mall on my lunch hour to grab the book It Starts With Food it really only took me 2 days to decide I was ready to tackle the program. I spent a weekend talking it over with Michael, pounding back the best bacon cheeseburger of my life, writing out my first week’s meal plan, and buying Whole30 compliant groceries.

What’s compliant?

Well with no grains, no dairy, no legumes, no sugar, and no additives you’d think a meal plan would be easy. Just slap some meat and veggies together and top it with healthy fat and Bob’s your uncle right? Almost. But not quite! How do I make breakfast without a carton of store bought almond milk or my beloved oats? Prep!!

Conveniently Monday morning was exactly the 15th of the month. I don’t know about you but I always feel most motivated for these kinds of things on the 1st and the 15th, and the obvious Monday motivation helps too.Day one went off pretty easily. It was fun to have a proper hot breakfast at my desk, interesting trying canned coconut milk in my coffee, and refreshing to not hit a wall at 3pm. I was in a good mood after work, which led to a particularly good yoga class that night and an almost decent night’s sleep.

The next day I learned a few things about making a drastic diet change

though. My body told me loud and clear that it noticed what was going on! I found myself to be quite hungry most of the day, even though I ate a similar menu as the day before. I went to the gym as usual, but after 20 minutes of cardio and only about 5 minutes of strength training I got lightheaded, which scared me so I packed it in and came home. I thought I had fuelled myself OK but apparently my body disagreed.

After that experience I paid a bit closer attention to each meal and made sure to follow the guidelines about pre-workout mini-meals. I was so used to just throwing down some toast and pb before the gym that it took a few tries before I learned that a boiled egg and handful of almonds was my best Whole30 fuel choice.

Talk about retraining the brain. Man, reaching for carbs really just is a way of life isn’t it?!

For the rest of the week things went well. I managed a couple of good workouts with no problems, I really didn’t have any off-program cravings, and started to notice that I was sleeping more soundly. I was still waiting for the crazy dreams I’d read about! Overall I was super happy with my choice to try Whole30 and very proud of myself for getting through the first work week.

Whole30 Compliant Tasty Discovery: Clarified Butter!

Skip the milk solids and make some clarified butter. Wouldn’t you just immediately sign up for any ‘diet’ that said ‘go ahead and cook a meal or three in melted glorious buttery deliciousness’. So fun. So deeelish.